Premiere at "K": New plant for hot air vulcanization of rubber profiles At the "K" trade fair, TSM will present a newly developed plant for hot air vulcanization of rubber profiles, which achieves savings on energy of more than 30 percent. ...

Online PR News – 01-September-2010 – – At the "K" trade fair, TSM will present a newly developed plant for hot air vulcanization of rubber profiles, which achieves savings on energy of more than 30 percent. The fundamentally new design of the TSM plant also reduces the requirement of space.

Thanks to the innovative gas burners and the combined heating of the profiles by hot air and for the first time additionally by infrared radiation, the new plant of the HLK 101 eco model exploits the heating energy much more effectively than the previous generation. Thus it makes production both more efficient and more eco-friendly. Even with the heating capacity being higher, TSM has succeeded in reducing the energy consumption of the overall plant by more than 30 percent.

The higher energy input into the profile leads to faster crosslinking, resulting in higher throughput rates of the plants, enhanced dimensional accuracy and optimal surface quality of the profiles.

Due to the higher rates of energy input, the new TSM machines are of a more compact design. Therefore they require a smaller footprint in the production line. TSM has reduced the installation length of the machine from 18 to 15 m. Set-up times are shorter as the number of hoods is smaller. Thanks to the accelerated crosslinking and the ease of profile guidance achieved by the new TSM machine, also the amount of reject material is reduced.

As an option the plant can be combined with microwave heating to further improve the heat transfer. Whereas in conventional systems the profiles are heated from the surface towards the center, microwave heating causes the thermal energy to expand from the center towards the peripheral areas. This effect additionally accelerates the crosslinking of the profile.

For Georg Tsiwikis, founder of TSM GmbH, resource-saving production is a key aspect: "We all must save energy. Therefore the efficiency of the production plants that we use plays a decisive role. With our new machine we have proved that less can be more: less energy - more throughput. Moreover we have enhanced the appearance of the new plant. The hoods with rounded-off edges set new standards in terms of design."

At "K", TSM will also show catalytic, thermal post-combustion plants of the CT 100 type, which bring down the emission of hydrocarbons arising from vulcanization to less than 15 mg/m3, fulfilling the emission regulations of the EU. Any existing vulcanization channels can be retrofitted with this type of post-combustion equipment.

About TSM
TSM GmbH develops, manufactures and supplies machines, plants and complete production lines for vulcanizing, flocking and cooling of profiles made of rubber and similar materials for the automotive and construction industries as well as flocking of all kinds of textiles and paper, including wall paper, in continuous processes.

Established in 2005 by Georg Tsiwikis and headquartered in Alsdorf, Germany, since its foundation, the company is today one of the world"s leading manufacturers of plants and machinery for vulcanizing and flocking processes.

To meet the customers" requirements in terms of capacity and productivity, TSM supplies plants with different lengths, working widths and heating capacities.

The company develops its plants with a
strong focus on efficiency in energy use and environmental friendliness of the applied processes. Modern control and regulation systems achieve a high degree of automation and excellent dimensional accuracy of the products.